A Christmas Eve Story
by AZGirl
Summary: Gibbs forgets someone. Begins at the end of episode 7.10 Faith. Possibly slightly OOC.
1. Chapter 1: Messed Up

**A Christmas Eve Story**

**Summary**: Gibbs forgets someone. Begins at the end of episode 7X10 Faith. One shot? Possibly OOC.

**Disclaimer**: NCIS is not mine.

**Spoilers**: Only if you haven't seen 7X10 Faith.

**A/N**: This is my first story for NCIS. I'm not sure if I have the characters quite right, so please be gentle in your reviews. This idea woke me up yesterday and wouldn't be satisfied until I wrote it down.

ooooooo

**Chapter 1: Messed Up**

As he headed out his basement door, he double checked to make sure he hadn't forgot to pack any of the toys. And, even though, he knew he had all them, he still felt as though he was forgetting something. His gut began to churn a little – it was trying to tell him something, but for the life of him he didn't know what.

At the Children's Hospital, as he and his dad were handing out toys, he felt his phone vibrating in his pants pocket. But he couldn't answer just then as his hands were full of kids wanting their toys and making sure his dad was holding up okay after their talk earlier. His gut began to churn even more – he was missing something.

Returning home with his dad – both flushed with cold and with the joy that comes from making a child happy – he didn't register that coming home to a darkened house was anything but normal even though it was Christmas Eve. His gut was now screaming at him – something was definitely wrong, but for the life of him, he just couldn't figure out what.

After they deposited their coats, he headed over to the kitchen intent on making a pot of coffee. He saw that the door to his basement was slightly ajar but thought he just hadn't completely closed it when they left. He gave it no further thought after pushing the door shut. He could hear his father turning on the tree's lights and starting a fire. By the time he got back to the living room with two cups of coffee, his dad was sitting and staring into the fire with a half-amused expression on his face.

Handing over one of the coffees and sitting down on the couch, he wondered what his dad was thinking and trying to figure out what his gut was trying to tell him. He was brought out of his thoughts when his dad began speaking.

"Thanks Leroy. Being with those kids tonight helped a lot. And thank you for inviting me to come spend Christmas with you. It's been a while since I've had family with me for the holidays and I've missed that."

He felt his gut twist again when his father had mentioned the words 'family' and 'holidays'.

His dad then reached over and gathered him into a crushing hug saying, "Merry Christmas, Son."

"Merry Christmas to you too, Dad."

He father released him, sat back against the couch, and asked, "So what was your going team going to do over the holiday weekend?"

It hit him like a heavyweight boxer's punch to the gut. He now knew what he was forgetting and who he was missing. He had been so distracted by the case, his father coming to visit, and getting the toys finished in time that he had completely forgotten Tony.

He reached into his pocket and took out his phone suddenly realizing who the missed called must have been from. Checking his missed calls, he saw his senior agent's name. There was no message.

Cursing, he hurriedly got up from the couch, leaving his cell phone behind, and headed towards the basement now realizing that it hadn't been him who had left the door ajar.

From behind, his father called out, "Leroy? Leroy! What's wrong?"

Ignoring his father, he continued on towards his basement, hoping he was wrong. Flipping the light switch while heading down the stairs, he didn't notice them until he reached the bottom.

They were sitting where just hours ago there had been toys – three bottles of expensive-looking bourbon with a small card leaning up against them. As he was picking up the card to read it, his father had made it to the basement door.

"Leroy? What's wrong Son?"

He flipped the card over and saw that it was one of Tony's business cards. Flipping it back, he read the short message.

"I messed up Dad," he said rubbing a hand over his face and audibly sighing.

Gesturing towards the bottles, Jackson said, "Messed up? How can suddenly having three bottles of bourbon be considered messing up?"

"They're from DiNozzo. With everything else going on, I forgot about Tony." He said as he was heading back up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, he handed the card to his father, who read it out loud:

_Gibbs - I thought I'd replenish your stash.  
Merry Christmas.  
See you Monday - DiNozzo_

ooooooo

**A/N 2**: I have more, but I kind of like how this ends. Should I continue?

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2: Too Late?

**A Christmas Eve Story**

**Summary**: Gibbs forgets someone. Begins at the end of episode 7X10 Faith. Possibly OOC. A one shot no more….

**Disclaimer**: NCIS is not mine.

**Spoilers**: Only if you haven't seen 7X10 Faith.

**A/N**: My internet went down shortly after I posted the first chapter. By the time it came back up there were more than 20 reviews! And then, this morning, there were 40 reviews – I practically fell out of my chair when I saw that! I'm shocked and overwhelmed and, most importantly… I'm inspired.

So, as a thank you to all those that reviewed, I decided to keep going. I hope you enjoy the next chapter and consider letting me know what you thought of it….

_Warning_: I'm not that great at dialog so, please give it a chance anyway. Thanks.

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_**From chapter one:**_

At the top of the stairs, he handed the card to his father, who read it out loud:

_Gibbs - I thought I'd replenish your stash.  
Merry Christmas.  
See you Monday – DiNozzo_

ooooooo

**Chapter 2: Too Late?**

Jackson looked up at his son. "I don't understand. It's not too late. Why don't you just call him?"

"Dad, you don't get it." Gibbs replied in a tight voice that barely concealed his rising anger. "It is _already_ too late. Didn't you read the note?"

"I read it. It says that he'll see you on Monday. What's wrong with that?"

Gibbs flipped the basement light switch off and pushed past his dad, grabbing the card as he headed back towards the living room.

He turned around when he reached the kitchen and held the card up.

"What's wrong with that is…is…everything," he nearly yelled the last word.

He took a deep breath and repeated in a slightly calmer voice, "_Everything_ is what's wrong with that! First, he left the bottles where the toys were. Then, he called me 'Gibbs' instead of _Boss_, and signed his name 'DiNozzo' instead of _Tony_. The final, most damning piece of evidence was the 'See you Monday'!"

He rubbed a hand over his face as he finished, "If that doesn't say I messed up and messed up big time; then I don't know what does!"

Gibbs felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Son, I think you're reading more into this than is really there. He probably saw you weren't here, dropped off the bourbon, and went to go spend time with his family."

"No, Dad. No!" he replied in frustration.

Knowing his dad didn't understand everything that was going on – the complexities of DiNozzo's family life or the more than nine years of history between him and Tony – he tried to reign in his temper.

Gibbs turned and placed his hands on the nearest kitchen counter and dropped his head. He had to quickly decide how much to reveal to his father. Another moment and his decision was made. He lifted his head and in a gruff voice said:

"When Tony joined NCIS, I found out pretty quickly that the 'big, big plans' he always mentions really aren't – that he usually spent all of the holidays alone. That first year, we ran into each other on Thanksgiving, and ended up having dinner together."

He straightened up and turned towards his dad. "Then at Christmas, when I found out he had volunteered to be on duty so that those with loved ones could be together, I brought him some dinner. Ever since, we've spent at least those two holidays together – one way or another."

Heading towards the couch he continued, "With everything going on, I completely forgot to make or confirm any plans with him. And, now…"

"Leroy," his dad's voice interrupted. "Call him. We can still invite him over tonight or he can come for Christmas dinner tomorrow."

Gibbs glared at his father. His father just smiled cheekily back at him. He sighed in defeat and picked up his cell phone. _It can't hurt, and I can only hope it helps_, he thought to himself.

Pressing '2' on his speed dial, he wasn't totally surprised to hear it immediately go to voice mail:

_You have reached Anthony DiNozzo. Please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thank you._

**BEEP.**

It seemed to him as though the beep had an accusatory tone to it. For a second he didn't say anything, his gut already telling him that this belated attempt to remedy the situation wouldn't work.

He finally found his voice and clearing his throat, he said:

"Tony, I guess I missed you here at the house. My Dad and I were hoping you'd be able to come back by tonight or make it over for Christmas dinner. Call me back as soon as you get this message."

As he hung up, he knew with absolute certainty that he wouldn't be getting a call back from Tony. He'd blown it. Tony had probably guessed he'd been forgotten and likely thought he'd been replaced by Jackson. Gibbs felt guilty as hell that Tony was even partially correct.

He had to find Tony. He just couldn't let his senior agent – his friend – think that he wasn't welcomed at his house for Christmas or that he wasn't welcome because Jackson was here as well.

The problem was that he would be hard pressed to find Tony when the man didn't want to be found especially when his senior agent had this much of a head start.

His father's voice interrupted his thoughts: "There. He'll call back and we'll all have nice dinner tomorrow."

"He's not going to call back." He stated with a tinge of sadness in his voice. He didn't know if he'd be able to explain what was going on in DiNozzo's head to his father.

"What?! Why not?" his father replied looking confused.

"I don't know if I can explain it to you Dad."

He threw his phone onto the coffee table.

"Try, Son. I want to understand why you're getting so worked up about this. Please."

"It's the note he left. Tony knew I was making the toys for the Children's Hospital and likely figured he'd be going with me to deliver them. He told me that he was giving his Secret Santa gift to Delores in H.R. at 1800 hours and without thinking why he told me that, I barely gave it a second thought."

Gibbs sank down onto the couch. "He probably came to the house, saw that I hadn't waited for him, and called me. My phone rang while we were at the hospital, but I didn't – couldn't – pick up so he probably thinks I don't want him around. That, with you here, he isn't needed or wanted…. Leaving the bourbon where the toys were, the use of the more formal names in the note, and the 'see you Monday' were all his way of saying that he's mad or disappointed or, hell, all of the above and more! Just trust me. It's too late. He won't call back, and he'll likely just disappear until Monday."

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. A moment later, Gibbs felt his Dad's weight settle beside him.

"Let me ask you something, Son. When you said the guest room wasn't a guest room anymore, I got curious."

Gibbs opened his eyes and began glaring at his father. His father ignored the look and smiled broadly:

"You know, for a guest room that's not a guest room anymore, it sure looks as though it's still being used as a guest room – it's not being used for storage, it has nice furniture and fresh sheets on the bed," His dad's knowing gaze held him. "And, there are several stacks of DVDs lining the top of the dresser."

His dad smiled. "So, tell me Leroy. If it's not a guest room, then just whose room is that?"

"I think you know, Dad," he replied evenly.

"Well then, Leroy," his dad clapped a hand to his shoulder and smiled yet again. "We'll just have to find Tony whether or not he wants to be found. It's a simple misunderstanding and it's nothing that can't be explained or forgiven."

Gibbs quietly replied, "I hope so, Dad. I've messed up so many times and yet he's forgiven me each and every time. I just hope he has it in him to do it again."

"From what I know of Tony, I'm sure he will. Now. How do we find our boy?"

ooooooo

**A/N **2: I know Gibbs probably says more in this chapter than he does in any three episodes combined, but it's to his Dad so I figure there's some leeway there, right?

Once more chapter to go, I think. I'm going with the KISS principle in relation to plot and also the desire to have the story done in time for the story's title to have more than one meaning. ;o)

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: Found

**A Christmas Eve Story**

**Summary**: Gibbs forgets someone. Begins at the end of episode 7X10 Faith. Possibly OOC. The end is here.

**Disclaimer**: NCIS is not mine.

**Spoilers**: Only if you haven't seen 7X10 Faith, 5X1 Bury Your Dead, or 6X11 Silent Night. There are some other references sprinkled throughout, but I don't have time to look them up.

**A/N**: Many thanks for your continued support and kind words! They inspired and kept me going.

I hope you enjoy this last chapter…

ooooooo

_**From chapter two:**_

"Well then, Leroy," his dad clapped a hand to his shoulder and smiled yet again. "We'll just have to find Tony whether or not he wants to be found. It's a simple misunderstanding and it's nothing that can't be explained or forgiven."

Gibbs quietly replied, "I hope so, Dad. I've messed up so many times and yet he's forgiven me each and every time. I just hope he has it in him to do it again."

"From what I know of Tony, I'm sure he will. Now. How do we find our boy?"

ooooooo

**Chapter 3: Found**

Gibbs had tried to explain to his dad that all the usual tricks to find someone weren't going to work with Tony. His senior agent knew all of them and would probably use them against him.

Tony's phone had gone straight to voicemail which meant it was most likely turned off – so no GPS tracking.

If Tony was even half-way thinking clearly when he left Gibbs' house, he had probably taken cash out of the closest ATM in order to throw everyone off his trail.

He knew Tony's car was lowjacked as too many things had happened to his previous cars for him to not take that precaution. But, he would bet a lot money on Tony knowing how to disable it so he couldn't be tracked.

Suddenly, a vision of being in MTAC and watching Tony's Mustang blowing up flitted across his memory bringing with it more guilt and worry for his friend. He let the feelings have free reign for only a few moments before suppressing them and refocusing on trying to find his senior agent.

Gibbs knew Tony was too smart to leave any electronic trails for anyone to follow therefore it was pointless to even try. That meant he'd have to use everything he knew about Tony personally in order to find him.

His friend could be just about anywhere by now – or at least as far as a tank of gas would take him. Tony would probably avoid gas stations for fear of security cameras spotting him. Ditto with airports, bus terminals, and any other modes of mass transit.

Staying with a woman? _No_, Gibbs thought to himself. _Tony hasn't mentioned going on any dates or any of his sexual exploits in quite awhile_.

Staying with a teammate? _Not likely_. He thought. _Maybe Abby – if she wasn't staying with the nuns tonight. But, then again, his teammates don't even know that Tony spends some of his time outside of work with me. It just isn't in Tony's nature to let anyone, even his teammates, get that close to him._

He smiled a half-smile and mused. _So, just how did I get the honor of Tony's trust and manage to keep it all these years_?

He had put a stop to that train of thought and continued going through the list of possibilities with his dad.

A hotel? _Possibly. But which one of hundred or more? _Checking them all would take too long especially since Tony wouldn't register under his own name. He might as well just resign himself to seeing Tony on Monday at the office if he went down that path to find him.

He knew the duffle Tony kept in his car usually only had one change of clothes so probably the first place he went was to his apartment. But Gibbs thought Tony would be long gone from there by now.

His father had insisted it was at least someplace to start saying, "Do you have any better ideas?"

Gibbs had had to admit that he didn't. He'd started towards his front door intent on getting his coat so he could go warm up his car and scrape the ice off the windshield.

As he'd opened the door, he heard his dad say, "I want to come with you."

"Dad, no. Someone should stay here just in case he shows up."

He didn't want to risk the chance that DiNozzo might show up to his house drunk like he'd done on a few previous occasions and have no one be there for him.

"But, Leroy, you're the one who said he won't be coming back here."

"I know I did, but it's one of my rules to not assume anything, so can you _please_ stay here?"

"Your rules?" he said with his voice full of mocking laughter.

"Yes, my rules. Do we have to do this now?" he asked with impatience.

"Sorry, Leroy. You're right. It's probably best to cover all the bases. Go! Keep me updated!" he'd heard his father say as he shut the door.

ooooooo

Now he was in his truck only a couple minutes from DiNozzo's apartment. His gut was telling him that Tony wasn't there, but maybe there was some hint as to where his friend had gone. Not that he believed Tony would really make a mistake like that, but he had to hope.

As he drove up to the building, he saw that Tony's assigned parking space was empty. He parked his car in the spot and headed towards the entrance.

The elevator was out _again_, so he had to climb the four flights of stairs up to Tony's apartment. He'd have to remember to talk to his friend once more about moving into a better place.

He knocked on the door even though he knew no one would answer. After waiting a minute to be sure Tony wasn't going to answer, he picked the lock. Once inside he noticed how cold the place was and wondered if the heat was simply off or broken – again. He checked every room and closet on the off chance his senior agent might try to bluff him. But, as he'd suspected, Tony was not there.

What he found odd about Tony's place was that there was no evidence of a quick retreat. Nothing seemed to be out of place in the apartment – both the master bedroom and bathroom looked as though nothing was missing.

People might think that DiNozzo was a slob, but actually he was very organized and clean – when he wasn't spilling food down the front of his shirt. He smirked briefly.

Every room was spotless, nothing was out of place except –

As Gibbs fully entered the living room area, he immediately noticed two items that would be considered out of place any other time of the year. The first was a plastic container nearly full of Tony's homemade caramel popcorn. The second was the DVD of "It's a Wonderful Life".

Gibbs thought back to last year when he'd made it back from taking Ned Quinn to see his daughter just in time to see the end of the movie as it played on the big screen in MTAC. Tony had sprung from his seat and thanked everyone for taking part in the DiNozzo family tradition.

His friend had seen him standing in the back, smiled broadly, and added that he hoped everyone had enjoyed themselves. Everyone else had then left, leaving Tony to clean up the mess and shut the equipment down. Gibbs had stayed behind to 'supervise' and….

His gut picked that moment to finally give his brain a clue.

"Of course!" he said aloud and then smacked himself on the back of the head.

He got his phone out and called his dad.

ooooooo

He'd driven as fast as was safe given the road conditions. His father had protested several times, but he'd ignored the protests in his haste to get to his friend.

He still had no idea what to say to Tony in order to make it up to him. Gibbs guessed that this incident had likely brought up the unpleasant memory of Tony's father forgetting him in Hawaii when he was a kid. And, for that, he felt especially guilty. He _never_ wanted to be thought of in the same way as that man.

Gibbs and his father had grabbed the items they'd brought with them and got into the elevator. As they stepped out of the elevator, Gibbs saw that his senior agent was quietly sitting at his desk going through some files.

There were no words to describe the relief he felt at the sight of his friend.

He motioned to his dad to wait and approached DiNozzo's desk. He knew that Tony knew someone was there – the _ding_ of the elevator was loud without the din of a busy office.

"DiNozzo," he greeted.

"Gibbs," replied Tony, who was pretending to keep reading the file he had in his hands.

"My dad and I missed you this evening."

"Was that before or after the Children's Hospital?" Tony replied evenly. He had yet to look up.

"After."

"I see," his friend's voice sounded strained.

"Thanks for the bourbon. I was running low."

Tony finally raised his eyes; he cleared his throat, and said, "You're welcome."

"Get my message?"

He nodded affirmative, also saying aloud, "Yes."

"Were you going to call me?"

"I hadn't decided." Tony said, dropping his eyes back to the file.

"Did you volunteer to be on duty?"

Tony nodded but didn't look up.

Gibbs put his hands on DiNozzo's desk and leaned into Tony's personal space.

"For the whole weekend?"

His senior agent shrank back a little but otherwise he still didn't look up.

"I don't know yet. Weber said he'd check in around 1500 hours tomorrow after his family had exchanged gifts and had dinner."

"It wasn't intentional."

Tony nodded and finally looked up. He looked relieved.

"You know how I am around my dad," Gibbs said, which got him a big grin.

Gibbs reached out and tapped his fingers under Tony's chin.

His friend smiled shyly and tipping his head to the left said, "Is your dad just going to stand by the elevator all night?"

Gibbs lightly head slapped his senior agent and gestured for his dad to come join them.

ooooooo

In the darkened room, the movie played on with the sounds of caramel popcorn being munched on in the background. His friend was sitting beside him with a goofy expression of joy on his face. His dad was sitting behind them, enjoying the film and his own little bowl of popcorn.

The stress of the last few hours had morphed into a sense of peace now that his family was together and all was forgiven.

He checked his watch.

Gibbs leaned over and whispered, "Merry Christmas, Tony."

Tony smiled and whispered back, "Merry Christmas, Boss."

ooooooo

_**The end.**_

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**A/N 2**: I couldn't help the sappy ending – it's Christmas after all. I just didn't have the heart to continue the angst fest.

I hope this turned out OK as I didn't have the usual amount of time to check grammar and make corrections. I also had several other plot ideas, but just simply ran out of time. In fact, I'm running late!

Christmas plans with my family are an irresistible temptation…

**Thanks for reading!**

**Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! **


End file.
